By: Ashley Winterstein

The State of Maryland mandates that each student fulfill at least 75 hours of Service Learning before graduating from high school., but gives each school district the ability to design and implement their own Service Learning plan for their students and community.

The Queen Anne’s County Board of Education explains their intentions for Service Learning Projects on their website, www.qacps.k12.md.us. “It is our plan to engage our youth in service to their communities; to provide opportunities to learn through organized preparation, activity, and reflection; and to instill in them the habits of citizenship so that service becomes a way of life—a way of learning by giving.”

Kathy Terry, Service Learning Coordinator at Queen Anne’s County High School, has organized countless Service Learning opportunities over the past fourteen years. At the high school level, she infuses Service Learning into 9th Grade American History and 11th Grade English classes.

This year, Terry joined forces with Christine Burke at the Head Start Program in Grasonville, to enable two 11th Grade English classes to interact with the Head Start students with  two different projects. One of Mrs. Biringer’s classes designed and executed a Field Day for the students, while her other class designed lessons to share the Character Counts! May Pillar of Caring.

As is standard with all Service Learning Activities, Mrs. Biringer’s students participated in hours of preparation before the event. Terry visited with the class prior to the trip to remind them of their Service Learning requirement, introduce the project, and plan the date they would travel to the Head Start Center.

Jacki Carter, Character Counts! Coordinator, also visited the classroom to review the Six Pillars of Character (Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship) with a focus on the Pillar of the Month for May – Caring. The students were given teaching resources related to the Caring Pillar and time to organize themselves into five teaching groups. Each group planned a unique Caring lesson for their Head Start class.

On May 25, 2010, the high school students arrived at the Head Start Center to first meet with Burke to discuss the Head Start Program and its goals. Head Start is offered to three and four year olds whose families meet certain income requirements. The primary goal of the teachers and support staff is “to prepare children for successful public school participation while providing them with a means of meeting their developmental and nutritional needs.” Breakfast, lunch, and a snack are offered each day, as well as educational activities, socialization opportunities, and routine medical screenings.

After their introduction, each group of high school students, armed with their Caring lesson plans, was assigned to a Head Start class with the intention of fully integrating themselves in the daily activities of the children. From breakfast to teeth brushing to sharing the news and weather of the day, the high school students were there to offer assistance and support.

Each group was given time in the schedule to share their Character Counts! Caring lessons with their class. The lessons were as unique as the students who designed them. One group of high school students led a discussion about things parents do to show they care and helped the children with an art project starring Karina the Character Counts! kangaroo. Other groups read stories and drew pictures expressing caring actions. One student even brought his guitar to class and taught the children a popular Character Counts! song.

Within mere hours, the high school students seemed to bond with the Head Start students. They knew the children by name, tied their shoes, participated in all the different stations in the classroom, and even stayed by their side during recess and lunch. The high school students were very clearly teaching the Head Start students about caring long after their planned lessons had ended.

The entire day proved to be a seamless collaboration between the Head Start Center, Character Counts!, and the Service Learning Department at Queen Anne’s County High School. The Character Counts! Advisory Council would like to thank Kathy Terry, Christine Burke, and Mrs. Biringer’s 11th Grade English Class for the time they spent sharing the importance of having good character.

For more information about the Character Counts! program in Queen Anne’s County, please contact Jacki Carter at 410-758-6677 or jcarter@qac.org.  Queen Anne’s County Character Counts! is a part of QAC Community Partnerships for Children and Families, our local management board.